Mike Yaconelli once relayed a lesson
for humanity from cows: “I live in a small, rural community. There are
lots of cattle ranches around here, and, every once in a while, a cow
wanders off and gets lost… Ask a rancher how a cow gets lost, and
chances are he will reply, 'Well, the cow starts nibbling on a tuft of
green grass, and when it finishes, it looks ahead to the next tuft of
green grass and starts nibbling on that one. Then it nibbles on a tuft
of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It then sees another tuft of
green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one
and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has
nibbled itself into being lost.”
Yaconelli made the application:
“[Humans] are in the process of nibbling their way to being lost… We
keep moving from one tuft of activity to another, never noticing how far
we have gone from home or how far away from the truth we have managed to
end up.” *
Isaiah wrote by inspiration long ago
about humanity’s greatest problem, alluding to how we are like sheep
(and cows): “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every
one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). We selfishly go from one tuft of
sinful pleasure to another until we are lost. The problem is universal;
note how Isaiah says “All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned, every one, to his own way.” The Apostle
Paul echoes: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God” (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Isaiah’s identification of man’s
problem is found in the middle of a prophecy about God’s solution for
man’s sin. He foretold the coming of the Suffering Servant who would
give his life for the sins of mankind:
“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
-- Isaiah 53:4-6
Isaiah’s prophecy was pointing to what
Jesus, the sinless Son of God, did for us when He died on the cross for
our sins. He paid the price for our redemption from sin (1 Peter
1:18-19; 2:24) so that we can be reconciled to God (1 Peter 3:18).
God will forgive
of sin and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in
Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts
17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will
continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of
His Word (1 John 1:7-9).
“All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord” because of His
great love for us “has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah
53:6).
Won’t YOU accept His offer of
salvation and eternal life?
-- David A. Sargent
* Mike Yaconelli,
"The Wittenburg Door," as qtd. in
www.sermonillustrations.com.
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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